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338:. Experiencing rapid growth, the retailer in 1895 moved its headquarters to a building on West Adams Street in Chicago, and again the following year to Fulton and Desplaines Streets. The company's rapid growth created problems with the fulfillment of orders, because it had to lease space all over the city to warehouse its products.
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is a fourteen-story structure, with a limestone base and brick walls. It is crowned by a
Classical Revival top floor with round-arch windows and a modillioned cornice. It housed water tanks for firefighting on the upper levels, as well as offices and secretarial training facilities. It also housed
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In 1992 a non-profit partnership organized by former Sears management began to redevelop the site, now dubbed Homan Square. The mail order merchandise building was demolished (except for its main tower), and the land it occupies has been redeveloped to include new residences, retail, and a community
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By 1926, the first ground level parking lots replaced the athletic fields. This happened at the same time that a strategic shift from catalog sales to retail stores had started with easy auto travel making travel to a store more practical. By 1943 the complex had become a city within itself. Sears
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The company's growth continued through the 20th century, and by the 1960s it was the largest retailer in the world. Changing trends in retail sales and methods led to a decline, and the company's mail order business was scaled back in 1987, moving out of these premises. The corporate headquarters
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In 1904 the company purchased more than 40 acres (16 ha) of land on
Chicago's West Side, and embarked on one of the largest retail development projects to date. The centerpiece of the company-owned "city within a city" were its central administration building, a merchandise development house,
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The elements that survive from the early period of the Sears complex development are organized around South Homan Avenue, between West
Arthington Street and the railroad tracks to the south. The merchandise tower, the only surviving element of the 3-million-square-foot Merchandise Building, is to
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and a mail order processing facility, along with a power plant to provide electricity and heat to the entire complex. Designed by
Nimmons and Fellows, a local architectural firm, the complex was so large the company required city permission to build over some city streets.
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the west, and the Power House and
Administration Building are to the east. Beyond those two, fronting on West Arthington and Spaulding Avenue, is the former Merchandise Laboratory. These buildings were built along the former right-of-way of the
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This building, which is an L-shaped structure six stories in height and finished in brick, housed the company's catalog printing operation from 1905 to 1926. It served for about forty years as its principal product testing laboratory.
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is a broad five-story masonry building, occupying about 3/4 of the block facing West
Arthington between South Homan and Spaulding. It has ornate Classical Revival detailing applied to an otherwise fairly typical Chicago School design.
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The Power
Station is a rectangular, nominally single-story, brick structure measuring 114 by 230 feet (35 m × 70 m). Its front facade is characterized by tall and large round-arch windows, with a stepped parapet above.
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In the 1920s extensive athletic facilities were added to the complex, as an encouragement for after-work socialization to keep employee morale high. Included were a clubhouse and tennis courts, and the Sears
Department of the
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546:. In 2015, it was refurbished and reopened to the public as the "John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Tower". It now houses non-profit groups and offices, including a classroom on the 12th floor for the
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These core buildings occupy an area bounded on the north by West
Arthington Street, the west by Central Park Avenue, the east by Spaulding Avenue, and the south by West Fillmore Street.
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402:. Included in this reconstruction effort is the massive rehabilitation of the former Sears Power House, into the Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center—a
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The former Sears
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a cafeteria – originally men and women were separated, and multiple levels of service for all employee lunch and breakfast.
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when it was completed. That building has been demolished, its site taken up by the Homan Square redevelopment project.
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The full extent of the Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex (towering cluster of buildings in center), circa 1950.
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created their own services for effective use, much advanced beyond what was required at the time, including:
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operations between 1906 and 1993, and it also served as Sears' corporate headquarters until 1973, when the
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was completed. Of its original 40-acre (16 ha) complex, only three buildings survive and have been
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a company fire department, with volunteer firemen, and early use of fire sprinklers.
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University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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597:. It gained national notoriety due to its characterization in the media as a CPD '
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as Linus Caldwell along with many other actors filmed a scene in the Power House.
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808:. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division
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Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago
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center. Homan Square is used as an example of the gradual turn around of
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List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
550:. The Sears Roebuck plaque is still visible on top of the building.
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a 200,000-gallon water tank, water use and fire prevention purposes.
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a company police department, with armed officers, and early use of
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Sears was founded in 1886, renamed Sears Roebuck in 1893 when
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as Karen Eiffel filmed a night scene in front of the tower.
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663:"NHL nomination for Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex"
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a private bank offering services for employees on site.
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Warehouses on the National Register of Historic Places
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joined the firm, and was originally headquartered in
806:"Sears, Roebuck and Company Administration Building"
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A former warehouse of the complex was repurposed by
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
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560:Sears, Roebuck and Company Administration Building
937:List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state
1370:Retail company headquarters in the United States
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1329:National Register of Historic Places portal
287:is a building complex in the community area of
833:stereo views of the Sears complex, circa 1906.
780:. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
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421:Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad
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716:National Historic Landmark summary listing
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877:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
406:Platinum historic renovation designed by
37:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
831:A Trip Through Sears, Roebuck, & Co.
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718:. National Park Service. Archived from
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685:"National Register Information System"
548:School of the Art Institute of Chicago
522:George G. Nimmons – William K. Fellows
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309:adaptively rehabilitated to other uses
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747:"Sears, Roebuck and Company District"
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90:Show map of Chicago metropolitan area
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712:"Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex"
690:National Register of Historic Places
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311:. The complex was designated a
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140:Show map of the United States
772:"Emporis building ID 117500"
215:; 119 years ago
18:United States historic place
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790:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
631:(2006) – For this movie,
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1219:Northern Mariana Islands
455:925 South Homan Avenue,
1385:North Lawndale, Chicago
665:. National Park Service
554:Administration Building
514:Design and construction
496:76 m (249 ft)
1214:Minor Outlying Islands
1197:Lists by insular areas
911:Keeper of the Register
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336:Minneapolis, Minnesota
205:16 acres (6.5 ha)
916:National Park Service
896:Contributing property
695:National Park Service
628:Stranger than Fiction
595:Homan Square facility
585:Homan Square Facility
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242:Nimmons & Fellows
232:Thompson-Starrett Co.
186:41.86944°N 87.71167°W
153:925 S. Homan Avenue,
1271:District of Columbia
472:Construction started
115:Show map of Illinois
697:. January 23, 2007.
619:as Danny Ocean and
447:General information
414:Surviving buildings
317:commercial building
274:Designated NHL
191:41.86944; -87.71167
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1390:Chicago Landmarks
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1108:North Dakota
812:February 28,
810:. Retrieved
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754:. Retrieved
724:. Retrieved
720:the original
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667:. Retrieved
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277:June 2, 1978
269:June 2, 1978
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1264:Other areas
1224:Puerto Rico
1058:Mississippi
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726:October 11,
506:Floor count
392:Sears Tower
305:Sears Tower
189: /
165:Coordinates
1354:Categories
1173:Washington
1093:New Mexico
1088:New Jersey
963:California
640:References
621:Matt Damon
599:Black site
527:References
301:mail order
177:87°42′42″W
174:41°52′10″N
1183:Wisconsin
1148:Tennessee
1053:Minnesota
1028:Louisiana
756:April 24,
669:April 24,
615:(2004) –
593:into the
480:Completed
238:Architect
1339:Category
1168:Virginia
1118:Oklahoma
1098:New York
1073:Nebraska
1063:Missouri
1048:Michigan
1038:Maryland
1023:Kentucky
1003:Illinois
978:Delaware
968:Colorado
958:Arkansas
786:cite web
465:Illinois
457:Lawndale
452:Location
255:78001129
228:Built by
150:Location
1285:Related
1188:Wyoming
1163:Vermont
1068:Montana
1008:Indiana
988:Georgia
983:Florida
953:Arizona
943:Alabama
841:Emporis
777:Emporis
461:Chicago
326:History
293:Chicago
218: (
1123:Oregon
1078:Nevada
1018:Kansas
993:Hawaii
948:Alaska
884:Topics
544:WLS-AM
488:Height
1255:Palau
1153:Texas
1033:Maine
998:Idaho
750:(PDF)
467:60624
423:(now
297:Sears
210:Built
1209:Guam
1158:Utah
1113:Ohio
1013:Iowa
814:2012
792:link
758:2017
728:2007
671:2017
558:The
537:The
493:Roof
483:1906
475:1905
404:LEED
348:YMCA
283:The
220:1905
213:1905
202:Area
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601:'.
427:).
425:CSX
291:in
250:No.
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788:}}
784:{{
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459:,
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